Black 47: Larry Kirwan (vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion); Geoffrey Blythe (vocals, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Fred Parcells (vocals, trombone); Joseph "Bearclaw" Burcaw (vocals, bass guitar); Mike Fazio (guitar); Joseph Mulvanerty (flute, Uilleann pipe); Thomas Hamlin (drums).Personnel: Geoffrey Blythe (saxophone).Additional personnel: William Bitters (sound effects).IRAQ, Black 47's tenth studio record, works simultaneously as an extraordinarily nuanced protest record and a loving band communiqu with their working-class fanbase. Inspired by letters and e-mails exchanged with fans who served in the second war in Iraq, the album raises neck hairs with a very honest reflection on the realities of modern war as experienced by those on the ground. The music--the Irish expat quintet's usual panoply of traditional Celtic, punk, ska, and pub rock--largely gets out of the way of the gripping narratives. CNN, take note: this band can report from the front as well as anyone.

Critic Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.58) - "[A]n unashamedly topical wallop of early-Seventies Jersey-bar E Street Band and the COMBAT ROCK-era Clash, laced with the mourning siren of Uilleann pipes. The album is as blunt in its frontline detail as it is in title."